College Admissions Essay: Why I Want To Study Law

Some people come to college without a clue of who they want to be and what they want to do upon graduation. But, I was not one of those people. I saw/see college as a necessary evil to become a lawyer. I often pose the question, “If I can major in anything to go to law school, why do I need to go to college?” To be honest, I still feel that way sometimes, but in the last few years, since focusing on Peace Studies, I think of college as how I’ve become an informed and inquisitive citizen. For example, I was in a bar in Brussels last semester and an American guy was asking me about what Peace Studies is, so I began explaining a general overview that goes something like this, “We study the world, it’s origins and all of it’s intersectional characteristics.

I did a little stint in psych, and political science. Psych stats ruined any prospect of me being a psych major and I found political science especially dense and boring. I learned early in school that I hate theory. Obviously, I like facts and the law. So debating Foucault, Neiszche, Rouseau and Hobbes, to name a few, was not exactly what I was looking to get out of my education. I must say, I will never forget what the social contract is. I wrote a paper for my Political Science Contemporary Political Thought (PSC 202), I have very little idea of what it means but I got an A on it. I have never been more shocked at a grade before, good or bad. But I also felt this immense pressure to now continue to get A’s. Up until that point I had only gotten A’s here and there, and when I expected them. Upon receiving that grade I felt like I could and had to continue performing at that level; these feelings were almost crippling. I did not come from a school where I was regarded as intelligent, sure I was smart but in a way that I constantly needed to prove myself. I was in all of the average classes, but in those classes we were made to feel stupid because those were the lower level courses. While I was the smartest in those classes, when I would go into History and English that were not leveled, I always felt that I needed to prove my worth and show I could hang with them. Making a mistake in front of people was my greatest fear- and I’m not exaggerating. PCE202 brought that out of me again. There were a lot of older students who had classes together, friend groups and all around more experience dealing with these materials. I’m sure most of my fears were made up by my own perceptions instead of reality because I ended up making good friends in those classes who I worked with as I transitioned into International Relations courses. But truly, high school never